Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Revisiting the Douglas/Bowman Affair

In the weeks since his arrest, it seems like Anthony Bowman is going about his punishment the right way. He is open and apologetic to the media, and he sounds as if he understands why he's being punished. Now, unless we learn that his involvement in the case was much smaller than earlier reports indicate, he'll likely be suspended for the year--heck, even if he isn't, he's so far behind in practice time that he probably wouldn't play upon reinstatement anyway. As far as getting his career and life back on track, this is the way to do it.

Unfortunately, it's harder to say the same thing about Dominique Douglas; he has refused comment to the press, and I have no idea if he's planning on attending class this semester. Usually, though, the more uncertainty that surrounds a situation like this, the worse it ends up. Let's just hope James Cleveland's method of support was a "You are my friend and I really hope you turn it around" message, not "I think you have been wronged through no fault of your own and I expect no change in behavior from here on out."

It seems to me that Bowman has decided his best hope lies with separating himself from Douglas (hence the change in attorney and the public statements). Douglas certainly is under no obligation to say or do anything, but the difference between the two can't help but strike one as telling. If Bowman isn't guilty of much less serious activities than Douglas, he definitely is acting like he is.